It's time to move forward
by TeaAndSnowflakes
Summary: What if Lucifer made it to Chloe after 2x18's voicemail. [Spoilers for 2x18]


After leaving the voicemail for Detective Decker, Lucifer climbed in to his Corvette and drove steadily to Chloe's apartment. He didn't want to drive at his normal speed as he needed to piece together what he needed to say to Chloe without scaring her permanently.

At her door Lucifer held tight to his courage and knocked before he had the chance to walk away or talk himself out of it.

"Hey, come on in." Chloe said softly. She felt a little apprehensive letting Lucifer in she knew that he as not very forthcoming with his emotions or his personal side (He did have one) so she figured that whatever he needed to talk about was very serious. Lucifer stepped in to Chloe's apartment but he didn't go further than the foyer.

"Right, yes. First off I just want to make sure that the offspring is asleep, it's be best if we weren't interrupted by Dr Beatrice." He said, feeling nervous.

"She is. What did you want to talk about, it sounded serious." She went in to the kitchen to pour them some scotch that she had stashed away. Lucifer waited for Chloe to put the tumbler on the counter before taking it. In this instance he was glad that Chloe made him more mortal because he could properly enjoy the soothing burn of the alcohol.

"I know that I've sometimes withheld the truth about certain things but fir the most part I have never lied to you. Instead of constantly telling you who I am, I thought I should just show you." He said while both examining his glass and carefully gauging her expression.

"Show me what? Are you going to suddenly sprout horns and a tail to prove that you're really the Devil, Lucifer?" That caused Lucifer to look up at her suddenly with an indignant look on his face.

"No, Chloe. What I want to show you is much more horrifying that what you can find on those plushie depictions of me. Which are a horrible misrepresentation by the way." As he placed his glass down he switched to a more gentle tone, "Detective, please move in to the open space over there." He asked, pointing to the living room.

"Why?"

"I don't want you to feel trapped in your own home with what I'm about to show you so please just humour me, Detective."

"Ok." She said, feeling unsure as she shuffled in to the empty space between her kitchen and the living room.

"Before I show you I just want you to know that I care for you very much, more than I have for another person for millennia. I will never lie to you nor will I ever harm you or Beatrice. And I fully understand if you never wish to see me again."

"Lucifer, you're freaking me out. What do you want to show me?" Lucifer sighed, he quickly studied the Detectives features to memorise them before positioning himself closer to the door so he could make a quick exit.

"This." He said finally. Looking at her feet he tried to make his posture as still and unthreatening as possible as he let go of his angelic image and brought forth his scarred, red flesh. He held his breath for three gruellingly long seconds before changing back. He couldn't help but flinch when he heard Chloe gasp quietly. He didn't look up as he backed towards the door. He didn't want to see the terrified expression on the Detective's perfect features, he didn't want to see that fear turn to hate as she demanded that he leave her and her daughter alone forever. He wanted to forget the feeling of his heart tearing again and leave as quickly as his feet could carry him before he crumbled.

As soon as his hand hit to door handle he heard Chloe speak over the roar of blood pounding behind his ears.

"Wait." At that simple word The Devil froze at Chloe's timid command. "Don't go. Please." She asked quietly, her voice cracking slightly as tears began to form in her eyes. She had watched as Lucifer made himself seem smaller so that when he did reveal his true face it would be less threatening to her. She also saw his expression change from dread to guilt and sadness. She didn't know what compelled her to ask him to stay, she knew that she had questions but she also knew that under that red skin was her partner and friend, a friend that she didn't want to see sad or hurt because he might think that she might reject him for his Devilishness.

Lucifer had told her time and time again that he was the Devil but he contradicted everything that she knew about the Devil. He wasn't evil and he took a front to being called such. He had a temper but he only ever directed it at the guilty and never at her.

"Does it hurt?" She asked.

"No, it's more of a dull ache that doesn't really bother me anymore." He said, feeling a little shocked. "Are you alright Detective?" He could see the gears in her mind turning as she processed what was going on and thankfully she wasn't screaming in terror or telling him to get out.

"I think so. I mean this is a lot to get my head around. I think I need to sit down. Do you wanna join me?" She gestured towards the sofa. Chloe was a little surprised to see Lucifer's face lighten as he unfroze and followed her.

"What would you like to know?"

"Well I think we should probably discuss what you were talking about in your voicemail."

"Right, that. Well Detective as you know I am the Devil. I used to be the ruler of Hell but quit because I was sick of it. It's not that I don't like punishing wrong doers. I enjoy catching and punishing the guilty at your side immensely, but Hell was well Hell even for me. My brother Amenadiel is an Angel, he came to Earth to order me back to Hell but is now stuck here too because he Fell when he broke Fathers rules and slept with Maze." He remarked with a slight smile.

"What does that make Maze?"

"She was my most entrusted Demon in Hell. She came with me to Earth and helped me with Lux." Seeing Chloe's face drop he rushed to clarify, "Now before you begin to panic, Maze will never hurt you or Beatrice. She's become quite fond of you and the child and she would never let any harm come to either of you." He relaxed a little once he saw Chloe exhale and relax too.

"I'm guessing that Charlotte Richards isn't your step mom." She asked after a couple of seconds of chewing on her lower lip.

"No. My mother who is the Goddess of all creation hijacked Charlotte's near dead body after she escaped Hell. Though now mum isn't occupying Ms Richards body. She's gone somewhere where she can start her own life and world without Dad messing with it or her." He explained, suddenly feeling sad at going back over the departure of his mother, even though it was for the best for them all, he didn't want a war and neither did she.

"Oh...Is that when you went from the pier to the beach?"

"Yes. Amenadiel used to be able to slow time before he fell, he must have regained a small amount of power when he was with Maze and Linda. It doesn't affect celestial beings or demons."

"How is Linda?" She asked, she had gotten a text from Maze as she left the beach that evening and planned on seeing her in the morning.

"She's recovering, I'm sure she'll do fine with Maze watching over her and helping her."

"Does Linda know?"

"Yes. She has done for a little while now. You are reacting better than she did, she didn't speak to me for a week and then she started asking me all these questions about Hell."

"Are you ever going to see your mom again?"

"No, she's in a place where no one can ever get to."

"I'm sorry." She said sympathetically.

"It's fine Detective, before recently I hadn't seen her for millennia. I didn't visit her in Hell because she stood by and did nothing while I was thrown in to Hell." He said, feeling bitter at the memory.

"That's understandable. No parents should do such things to their children, it doesn't matter if they're a God or not." Lucifer felt his heart warm at Chloe's words. No one had ever taken his side on these things.

"Thank you Chloe. No one has ever said that before." Chloe smiled at him and as he returned it he felt his heart stutter, like it did whenever she would smile or laugh. In an instant Lucifer was reminded of how his Father had created her and manipulated them and his smile faded again.

"Lucifer, what's wrong?" Chloe asked as she saw the sudden shift in his emotions as he went from light and bright to sullen again. Not wanting to go backwards, Lucifer shifted closer and took one of Chloe's hands in his.

"After we stopped Dr Carlisle, my mother showed me a picture in a bar that was taken 36 years ago, it showed your mother and Amenadiel at one of the tables. My father sent my brother to bless your mother so that she would have you. In doing so you would be put in my path and I believe that he did so so that we would...but I don't know why He did it but I do know that what we had was part of His plan. That's why I left because I was being manipulated by both my Father and Mother, not only was it unfair to me it was unfair to you, I left to free you from my Father."

After several moments of silence Chloe finally broke it.

"If God created me to fall in love with you Lucifer why did I despise you, on a chemical level when we first met. Don't us humans have free will?" She asked logically. It was true that Chloe had been annoyingly immune to his charms and did say that she didn't like him at all, and it was also true that all humans did have free will. "My feelings for you grew gradually Lucifer and when you left it hurt like Hell and do you think I would have reacted the way I did when you returned if I was being manipulated by your Dad?" She asked seriously, pulling her hand out from under Lucifer's as opened up to him about what she had felt. Lucifer felt a sharp pain in his chest when she mentioned love and him leaving her. He had felt so guilty about leaving her after their relationship was blossoming, but even with all the pain he couldn't stay away from her.

"I'm sorry, Chloe. I truly am. It was the hardest decision I had to make when I left but my heart was broken and I didn't know what was real anymore. I thought that if I left you could move on and I tried to as well." He said sadly, running his hands through his hair as he fought off the tears that began to gather on his long lashes.

"That's why you married Candy isn't it? You wanted to put distance between us. To protect yourself." She said accusingly.

"And to protect you. Without me in your life my family would leave you alone. Mum would stay away from you, so she couldn't hurt you to get to me." He replied frantically. "I know that I might seem selfish but I care about you Chloe. I went through Hell twice to keep you safe because I don't think I could live on Earth without you on it." Lucifer doesn't register Chloe moving towards him until her arms are already wrapped around his shoulders. He had to twist his body so that he could properly wrap his arms around her like it was the last he'd get to be this close to her.

"I'm sorry, Lucifer." She said as she rubbed his back, she suddenly remembered his scars and kept to the middle of his back. "Lucifer can I ask you another question?" She only felt him nod against her neck, the tale tell signs of tears hitting her collar told her that he didn't quite trust his voice at that moment.

"Do I have free will?" She asked, repeating her question from earlier. Lucifer sat up straighter and shifted them in to a more comfortable position, he sat back against the sofa cushions and pulled Chloe in to his side.

"Yes, it's one of the gifts that Father gave to humans that he never gave his other children."

"Do you have free will too? You left Heaven and Hell because that's the choice you made." She turned her head up to see him mull over her question. He had been doubting his every action for weeks now ever since he realised how far his father's manipulation went. He didn't know what was his self found free will or what was his Father. He had had free will for millennia and there had been no way that God had known that his son would eventually leave Hell or meet Chloe. Chloe was also correct in knowing that she had free will too.

"I do." He said slowly. "What are you getting at Detective?"

"Well, if I have free will and you have free will what's stopping our feelings towards each other being real? So what if your Dad created me? So what if he put me on a path to eventually meet you? What if that's all he did and the rest was just us? There's no one here to try and manipulate you Lucifer. You just need to let yourself feel."

"I don't know Detective. I can't help but feel like this is all part of Dad's grand plan. Like I said back at that beach, I'm not worth it." He said, gently pushing himself up and away from Chloe, "I don't see how anyone, let alone you could..."He said with a deep sigh, not letting himself finish.

"Lucifer, even after you saying all those things you should know that I chose to kiss you because I knew that you knew me better than anyone, you might think differently but I think you're worthy. I may not believe in God but I do believe in you." Lucifer looked at her with a furrowed brow, no human had ever said such a thing before. There was a small spark of hope taking light in his chest when he thought about what they could be if he let himself bring forth his feelings for Chloe.

"Detective..."He began, Chloe's soft hand against his cheek made him stop talking and go still again.

"I just want you to be happy Lucifer, whether it's by being with me or with someone else, that's all I want; because that's what you deserve."

"I was happy Chloe, before all this mess happened, before you were poisoned. For the first time since my rebellion I felt true happiness. It was blissful and bewildering all at the same time." Lucifer took Chloe's hand from his cheek and held it to his chest.

"I was happy too Lucifer, happier than I have been with someone in years. Despite what has gone on recently I still hope that we can be more than just partners and friends. And I don't mean that we start things from where we left off, we need to create our own fresh start. No celestial meddling, just you and me." Lucifer looked carefully at her face, he could tell that she wasn't lying, her face was as open and honest as it had been on the day they had first kissed.

"You're sure that you want this?"

"I am. Are you sure? This means real relationship stuff Lucifer. This mean monogamy, seeing Trixie more, going on dates, having to put up with my mother and all the rest that comes with a relationship."

"Yes, this is something that I want. For you Detective, I can do all of that because it means I get to be with you." He said sincerely, he brought her hand up from his chest and pressed his lips to her knuckles. "I want to be with you Chloe Jane Decker."

"Ok, but we'll take it slow yeah? And if things get tough or you start having doubt, just know that if you feel like you can't come to me about it you can always talk to Linda about it."

"I know, darling. Thank you." He smiled. He noticed that she was starting to look a little sleepy. Lucifer gently tugged on her hand and urged her to sit back in their previous position with her resting against his chest and his arms around her. Lucifer recanted a few tales from his past that weren't too gory for her or too painful for him. As he was part way through telling her about how he had lit the stars he noticed her soft snores.

As carefully as he could he shifted them so that they were laying on the sofa, with him on his back and her curled against his tall frame and the back cushions. After a while of carefully playing with her hair and simply watching her sleep, the Devil fell asleep.

Several hours later before Lucifer woke up, he glanced at the clock to see that it was nearly the time that Chloe would normally get up on a school day. Even though he had Chloe's weight against his chest he felt like he was floating above the clouds with joy at the prospect of waking in her arms. Deciding that she might be more comfortable in her own bed Lucifer slid out from under her and scooped her up without waking her. She only half woke when he was tucking her in to bed.

"Lucifer, where are you going?" She asked groggily. Lucifer knelt next to the bed and brushed loose strands of hair from her face.

"I thought that you would be a little comfier in your own bed while I went and got us some brekky." He said with a charming smile.

"But we have breakfast stuff here."

"I know but I thought that I could whip up you and Beatrice something special as a treat and that requires some ingredients that I doubt you have at hand. So you head on back to sleep and I will be back in an hour with a breakfast feast." He said softly as he pressed a small kiss to her brow before standing.

"You promise?" She asked, half way back on her way to sleep.

"My word is my bond, darling." He said before leaving.

An hour and a half later Chloe's alarm went off. She woke with a slight jolt as she remembered what Lucifer had said to her in her half asleep daze. Getting up she quickly changed from her old clothes to something fresher. When she got downstairs she was only greeted by silence and the sound of Maze coming in through the door.

"Is Lucifer with you?" The Demon asked. "Did you two finally fuck and make up?" She said with a wicked smile.

"No! We just discussed his true nature but yes we did make up. He's gone out to get breakfast, why do you ask?"

"You know. How much did he tell you?"

"That he's the Devil, you're a Demon and he still thinks that his parents are using me to manipulate him, though I think we've worked on that."

"You're taking this well Decker, I'm proud."

"Yes. I have only one thing, if you even hurt Trixie I'll send you back to Hell myself."

"Understood. Trixie was my first friend on Earth, she's a cool kid. I won't hurt her."

"Ok. So back to your original question. I don't know where Lucifer is, he should be back by now."

"His Corvette is outside with a bag of food and flowers in the passenger seat." With a worried look Chloe grabbed her gun from her bag and went outside with Maze following close behind. They both knew something was up. If Lucifer had come back from his shop he would have been parading around the kitchen cooking her and Trixie stacks of food by now. Something felt off.

At his Corvette, Chloe saw what Maze had described. It was parked where he usually parked it; next to her car. Inside was a grocery bag filled with delicious looking fresh fruit and a bouquet of many different coloured flowers. Chloe put her hand to the grocery bag and found that it was still cold.

"I found his keys." Maze said from the other side of the car, she stood back up from her position knelt on the floor. "They were under the car."

"Like he'd dropped them."Horror dawned on both women's face.

"He's been taken."Maze said gravely.

Somewhere far, far away in the scorching desert, Lucifer stood barefoot in the sandy scrubland, wondering where he was and how he'd gotten there.

More importantly, why the bloody Hell did he was wings?


End file.
